Golfers in the swing with sportscotland funding
Wednesday 21 December 2005
While the golf season has wound down for many in Scotland, for some athletes and golfing hopefuls working on their game is a year-round pursuit. With this continual improvement of the sport in mind, MSP Patricia Ferguson today announced an award of £346,082 to the Scottish Golf Union (SGU).
The investment from sportscotland is a combination of £198,000 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund and £148,082 of sportscotland Exchequer funding from the Scottish Executive.
Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson said: "Golf in Scotland is more popular and experiencing more success than ever before. Recent achievements on the 2005 European Tour, which saw Sam Torrance win the Seniors Tour, Marc Warren win the Challenge Tour and Colin Montgomerie take the Tour's Order of Merit, was a first for Scottish golf and a great achievement by the three players. In addition, Lloyd Saltman topped the European Golf Association's amateur rankings after an excellent season which included winning the Silver Medal for the leading amateur in the Open at St Andrews.
"Alongside this, Scotland's young people are embracing golf with even more enthusiasm than previous generations through the clubgolf programme and through local clubs. This sportscotland funding will help ensure that the current generation of golfers have the right support and that the next generation have access to the coaching and equipment they need to become the best."
At 260,000, the SGU has the highest amateur club membership figure in Scottish sport. The governing body is in the first year of a five-year business plan, which aims to strengthen and develop the sport further. sportscotland funding is focused on increasing participation by young people in the sport through the delivery of the clubgolf programme (£173,082), funding individual athletes (£61,000) with a goal of continuing success in the amateur game, and improving the standard of coaching at all levels. Coaching funding (£112,000) will go towards the national and assistant national coaching posts and help support the development of more golf coaches across Scotland.
Overall, junior membership in golf clubs across Scotland has risen 20 per cent since 2001, from 29,000 to 34,000, and during 2005 alone, more than 12,000 nine year olds from over 300 schools have been introduced to golf through clubgolf's introductory game, firstclubgolf. The sportscotland investment will fund the appointment of three clubgolf staff whose role will be to encourage more children to become involved in the programme. In addition, funding for the development of the SGU's recently introduced Golf Academy Programme, part of sportscotland's Academy initiative, will raise the standard of coaching, support and advice available to young, developing players with the aim of having a fully integrated player pathway from the introduction of golf to the
nine-year-old to the top Scottish amateur.
Building on the SGU funded programme of squad training and competition for amateurs in the sport, some of Scotland's most promising young golfers have been given a boost via the £61,000 allocated from the Athlete Support programme. This funding will be geared towards an individual competition programme for junior and senior amateur players.
Top-ranked amateurs Lloyd Saltman and Richie Ramsay, both selected for this year's Walker Cup team, are recipients of such support. Saltman, aged 20 and Europe's number one golfing amateur, recorded back-to-back wins in two of the top events in this year's amateur calendar - the Brabazon English Amateur and St Andrews Links trophies - and won the Silver Medal for the leading amateur at The Open Championship by one shot from Scotland's Eric Ramsay, who has since turned professional. Other leading amateurs to look out for are Glenn Campbell from Blairgowrie and George Murray (Earlsferry Thistle). Campbell won the Scottish Golf Union 2005 Order of Merit, earning the title of Scottish Golfer of the Year, while Murray topped the Scottish Golf
Ranking.
Young Scots fared well in many other major international competitions, winning the Australian, Czech and Irish Stroke Play as well as finishing runners-up in the Amateur Championship, the British Boys and Scottish and Welsh Stroke Play Championships.
Additionally, 2005 was a successful year on the course for amateur team golf in Scotland, with Scotland winning the Home Internationals for the first time since 2000. It is only the third time in 20 years that Scotland has won the title. Scotland also placed a solid fifth in this year's European Team Championships, the most prestigious team event in amateur golf in Europe.
Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland, said: "We are delighted to award £ 346,082 towards the Scottish Golf Union. This financial contribution will not only nurture those who display the ability to compete and achieve on a global stage, but, through the clubgolf initiative, will help the overall development of golf in Scotland and encourage our youth to become more active in the sport.
Hamish Grey, Scottish Golf Union Chief Executive Officer, added: "2005 has been an outstanding year for amateur golf in Scotland. In competition, we have had some of our best results for years; we are beginning to see real returns from our investment in encouraging young people to take up golf and we are continuing to see clubs benefiting from the advice and services we provide.
"The continuing improvement in competitive golf is certainly due in part to how we work with bodies like sportscotland to encourage, attract and support new investment in coaching and supporting young players."
Other beneficiaries of sportscotland funding include Scottish Fencing, which has received a Lottery and Exchequer investment of £18,333 (eight months pro rata) and the British Bob Skeleton Association (BBSKA), which has received £20,000 in sportscotland Lottery funding.
clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland. The strategy has been developed as a direct result of the Scottish Executive's £500,000 per year commitment to introduce every nine-year-old child in Scotland to the game by 2009 as part of the Ryder Cup bid.
The £173,082 awarded to increase participation in the sport through the
delivery of the clubgolf programme is from in the £500,000 annual commitment from the Scottish Executive.
Athlete Support funding is now largely administered through the governing body.
All athletes who receive Athlete Support will also be supported by the sportscotland medical scheme.
Scottish Fencing's next financial year is due to commence 1 May 2006. This
year's Athlete Support funding (£5,333) is to provide a foreign competition
programme for three junior fencers, to be managed by Scottish Fencing and
to go towards overall player improvement.
The BBSKA, the sole governing body in the UK for the sport of bob skeleton, is midway through an eight-year performance plan leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The majority of the 2005/06 sportscotland funding is towards the support of individual athletes and development programmes.
Identified athletes receiving Athlete Support 2005-06
Scottish Golf Union
Wallace Booth, MILL OF FORTUNE, PH6 2JE
James Byrne, KINCARDINESHIRE, AB31 5ZL
Glenn Campbell, PERTHSHIRE, PH13 9BX
Jordan Findlay, FRASERBURGH, AB43 9PL
Bryan Fotheringham, FORRES, IV36 1HR
John Gallagher, EDINBURGH, EH13 9LL
Cameron Gray, DALRY
Scott Henry, CLYDEBANK, G81 6LF
Scott Jamieson, GIFFNOCK, G46 6QN
Ross Kellett, MOTHERWELL, ML2 2PR
Jonathan King, CARDROSS, G82 5JQ
Lewis Kirton, OLDMELDRUM, AB51 0DB
Ross Leads, GLENFARG, PH2 9NY
Steven McEwan, KILMARNOCK, KY1 4UJ
Robert McKnight, KILMARNOCK, KA1 1TQ
Philip McLean, PETERHEAD, AB42 2UG
Jamie McLeary, KIRKCALDY, KY1 2UD
George Murray, ANSTRUTHER, KY10 3DT
Paul O'Hara, MOTHERWELL, ML1 4YA
Euan Polson, INVERNESS, IV2 4AP
Richard Ramsay, ABERDEEN, AB15 7TJ
Lloyd Saltman, GOREBRIDGE, EH23 4NZ
Michael Stewart, TROON, KA10 6PF
James White, LEVEN, KKA8 1ER
Stuart Wilson, FORFAR, DD8 3AB
£61,000 Athlete Support
Scottish Fencing
Harry Moncreiff, KINROSSHIRE
£ 1,500 Athlete Support